Coming off a rookie season in 2015 that went well when he was healthy, Erik Goeddel took a step back in 2016. In his age-27 season, Goeddel 35.2 innings for the Mets and another 28.2 for the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s, quite a bit more innings than he had thrown in 2015 because of the elbow issues he dealt with that year. But in his time with the Mets, Goeddel had a 4.54 ERA and 4.21 FIP.
Those numbers had much to do with his propensity to allow home runs in 2016. After giving up just one in 33.1 innings with the Mets in 2015, he allowed five last year. On top of that, he issues walks and gave up hits at greater rates. It makes sense that the combination of those three things led to a significantly worse pitching line by season’s end.
With that, Goeddel is one of several pitchers already in the Mets’ organization who could be fighting for a spot in the Opening Day bullpen. And if he doesn’t make the roster for that game, he’ll probably pitch for the Mets at some point this season. Whether or not he’s the pitcher we saw in 2015 or 2016 remains to be seen, but his career numbers—3.45 ERA, 3.35 FIP—are perhaps the best guidance for now.